Through the Back Door

09

"I'm such an idiot," I muttered, stepping into the passenger's side of the white van. "I'm such a fucking id-"

"Stop it Hanbyul!" Chan half-yelled, stepping into the driver's side and starting the ignition. "Quit beating yourself up about what happened back there!"

"How can I?" I whined, still sniffling. "I fucked up big-time!"

"Yeah, well no shit but we all make mistakes!" Han replied, taking a backseat. He leaned forward to make eye-contact with me. "Look, you've had a lot happen today. Trust me, if I just went through all of that I wouldn't know how I'd react either! I very well might've done the same thing!"

Although the squirrel-faced boy was attempting to make me feel better, it made me break down in tears again. "Would you have slapped your long-time crush across the face; the only friend you've had since you moved to a foreign country just as he admitted his feelings to you?"

Jisung backed away from me as I continued to cry, looking at Chan in desperation. "Hyung, I think I just made her feel worse!"

"Hanbyul, I know you're upset, but please don't cry." The red-head grabbed my hand, rubbing this thumb against my skin in a comforting manner. "You're okay, I promise."

I sneezed, barely putting my elbow against my mouth in time. The sudden action made the tears die down.

Han chuckled. "That was cute!" He complimented the high-pitched noise.

"It was not," I mumbled, uncovering my mouth. "I'm so sorry guys I just..."

"Don't apologize," Chan assured me. He let go of my hand and put the van into drive, suddenly hitting the gas and racing out onto the busy street. "We're the ones who should be doing that."

"We really are," Han confirmed.

"Why am I here?" I repeated my earlier question. "What do you guys want from me?"

"It's kind of a long story, but you might already know more than you're really aware of," the red-head started. "Does the name Kim Hansol sounds familiar?"

I grit my teeth at hearing the bastard's name. I wanted to lie like I had previously but I knew Chan would see right through me. "Yes," I finally admitted. "I knew him."

"Thought so," he replied, confirming my earlier assumption. "As you know, he's well known for being apart of the drug trade but he's even more well known for human-trafficking and human smuggling. Although his main residency was in Seoul, he was put on a national watch list. There was only one time the police were ever close to successfully capturing him, but he was able to escape."

"To Canada," I added. "Yeah, he was supposed to be staying low there until he could return to South Korea to continue his dirty work."

"Well our gang originally came to be because of him. You see, we have a bit of an agenda against him. I guess you could say we're somewhat of a vigilante, but I also wouldn't say that's totally accurate."

"What do you all have against him?" I asked.

"He," Chan paused, his expression turned grim. "Fuck, I still struggle to say this out loud. He-"

"You don't have to tell me, I'm sorry I asked." I interrupted him. "Whatever it was it must've been awful."

"He took my sister!" the red-head finally blurted out.

"Oh my god," I whispered. I put my hand on his lap gently, trying to comfort him.

He grabbed my hand and squeezed it, his knuckles turning white. "Sorry," he whispered, loosening his grip.